NBA

3 NBA FanDuel Value Plays for 11/2/17

Brett Oswalt  —  @bRo14thekid Nov 2nd, 2017
After yet another efficient performance, Julius Randle is primed to keep things rolling in a nice matchup with Portland. Who joins him as a top value play on Thursday's pint-sized slate?

One of the keys to finding success in daily fantasy basketball is uncovering potential value plays. If you're looking to roster a stud or two, you need to consider squeezing in one of these lower-priced options into your lineup.

Let's take a look at a trio of players who could provide value and salary relief on Thursday's two-game slate.

Jordan Clarkson, SG, Los Angeles Lakers

FanDuel Price: $3,900
Projected FanDuel Points: 22.7
Projected FanDuel Value: 5.82

With just two games to choose from on Thursday night, it will be tough to find value -- but not impossible. One way to allow yourself enough cash to fit in big-time fantasy producers is by targeting reliable scorers. And although Jordan Clarkson isn't a starter, he has gotten fairly consistent minutes off the Los Angeles Lakers' bench, especially of late.

In his last two games, Clarkson has played at least 20 minutes in each, and he's turned those minutes into 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game with a 52.4% shooting percentage. In a matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers, we project Clarkson to log more than 20 minutes and score 13 points. He's our third-best point-per-dollar play on this evening's slate.

Maurice Harkless, SF, Portland Trail Blazers

FanDuel Price: $4,800
Projected FanDuel Points: 24.1
Projected FanDuel Value: 5.03

Unlike Clarkson, Maurice Harkless isn't a pure scorer. What he does offer, though, is a nice floor. Only twice this season has he played less than 25 minutes, and in the games he has played at least 25 minutes, he's averaged 20.3 FanDuel points with 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

Also in Harkless' favor tonight is his opponent. The Lakers are an improved defensive team -- ranking sixth in the league in defensive rating (per Basketball Reference) -- but that hasn't stopped making them a team to pick on in fantasy. Due to their top-five pace (103 possessions per 48 minutes), the Lakers still surrender 106.6 points per game, so it's no surprise to see the Blazers' implied total at 108.75 points.

With that, Harkless' already nice floor gets a boost, making him our top value at the small forward spot on Thursday night.

Julius Randle, PF, Los Angeles Lakers

FanDuel Price: $4,700
Projected FanDuel Points: 27.9
Projected FanDuel Value: 5.94

The Lakers' power forward and center positions have been somewhat of a crapshoot to start the 2017-18 season. Larry Nance Jr. and Brook Lopez usually start off the game in those two spots, but Kyle Kuzma and Julius Randle both vie for minutes behind them. For Kuzma, he can play both forward spots and hasn't had much trouble finding minutes. For Randle, it's taken a while, but it finally looks like he's found his groove as the team's second-team center.

Through seven games, Randle is averaging 11.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 block in 19.1 minutes per game, and, outside of a matchup with the slow-paced Utah Jazz, he is heating up of late. In his last three non-Jazz games, Randle has tallied an average of 31.2 FanDuel points in 20.2 minutes a night. As we've already seen, we don't have to worry about Utah tonight, making Randle a very solid option at his $4,700 price tag.


Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BRO14THEKID. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.